Gate.



N. EARLY.

GATE.

APPLICATION YILED 11111.25, 1913A Patented Dec. 16, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

lNVi-INTORl WlTNESSES ATTORNEY COLUMBIA PLANUOHAPH co.. wASHlNoTnN, n.c.

N. EARLY.

GATE.

APPLICATION FILED MAB.. 25

INVENTOR,

ATTORNEY coLuMmA PLANUGRAPM cow^sr1\NuroN, D. c.

NOAH EARLY, 0F LAVINA, MONTANA.

GATE.

LSLSMB.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 16, 1913.

Application filed March 25, 1913. Serial No. 756,818.

To all ze/1.0m t may conce/m:

lie it known that l, Noan EARLY, a citizen ot' the United States,residing at Lavina, in the county oit' Musselshell and State oitlMontana, have invented a new and useful Gate, oit which the following isa specification.

The invention relates gates.

The object ot' the present, invention is to improve the construction oigates, and to provide a simple, practical and inexpensive gate ot strongand durable construction, adapted to be easily and conveniently operatedat a distance from either side of it without dismounting from a horse orleaving a. vehicle.

A. lurther object oi the invention is to provide a gate ot' thischaracter, which will neither sag nor drag and which in opening willswing clear of snow and "arious other obstructions.

Another object of the invention is to prov vide a gate, equipped withlatch mechanism adapted to be automatically operated by the operatingmechanism ot' the gate, and capable ol etlectually preventing stock fromopening the latter.

lVith these and other objects in view, the invention consists in theconstruction and novel combination oit parts hereinafter fullydescribed, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out inthe claims hereto appended; it being understood that various changes inthe term, proportion, sir/.e and minor details of construction, withinVthe scope oit' the claims, may be resorted to without departing fromthe spirit or sacrificing any o't` the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings :-li`igure l is a perspeetive view oit' a gate,constructed in accord ance with this invention and shown closed. F ig. 2is a vertical. sectional view of the same, the gate being midway betweenits open and closed positions. Fig. 8 is a central vertical sectionalview, the gate being' open. F ig. lis an enlarged vertical sectionalview, illustrating the construction ot' the latch. 5 is an enlarged sideelevation otl the same. F ig. G is a detail view, illustrating the meansfor connecting the inner ends of the operating levers.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all thefigures of the drawings,

to improvements in In the accon'lpanying drawings in which isillustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, l designates adouble eentrally pivoted countei-balanced gate, provided at its centerwith a vertical tube :2 suitably secured to the gate and projecting atthe top to the bottom oit the same. The lower portion ot the tubereceives a fixed vertical pivot E3, mounted in a sill 4L or othersuitable base and permitting the gate to move vertically and swinghorizontally on it.

The gate, which may be of any preferred construction, may be eithersingle or double, a double gate being preferable as it is pert'ectlycounterlmlaneed and will, therefore, be easily operable whatever itssize or weight.

The gate is provided at the bottom adjacent to the vertical central tubewith a pair oit' depending ears fl between which is pivotcd one end otthe link 5, which is pivoted or tulcrnmcd at its other c nd between apair of upwardly extending perilorated ears (5, located at the conter ofthe swing ot' the gate or .midway between the positions occupied by thegate when the same is opened and closed.

lVhen the gate is li'tted by the meanshereinatter described, the linkwill cause the gate to swing and the mon'ientum ol the gate will carrythe link beyond a vertical position and cause the gate to complete itsopening and closing movement through gravity. This construction alsoenables the gate in opening and closing to clear snow and otherobstructions, so that it will not drag in such movements.

The gate is provided at its ends with upper and lower horizontalprojecting portions 7, preferably consisting of outer ter minals ot thetop and bottom bars of the gate, and adapted in the closing movement ofthe gate to drop into upper and lower brackets 8, mounted on verticalposts 9 and adapted to rigidly support the gate in its closed position,so that when the gate is closed persons may climb over the same andcattle may rub or lean against it without unduly straining it oraffecting its operation. Vhen the gate is opened, it rests upon blocksl0 and is received between uprights l1 and short posts or pieces 12rising from the sill t and arranged in spaced relation with thenprights. By this construction, the gate when opened is firmly seatedand is braced against lateral movement.

e latch, wnich provided at The uprights 11, which are located atopposite sides ot the gate when the latter is closed, are connected attheir lower portions by the sill and at their upper portions by ahorizontal supporting bar or timber 13, suitably secured at its ends tothe uprights at points below the upper ends thereof and also to thetramework formed by the uprights, and the connecting members may be otany other prete lred construction and may be braced in any suitablemanner. The upper ends ot the uprights are provided with slots orbitmfcations 1-/1 in which are pivoted operating levers 15, Yliulcrumedat an intermediate point between their ends on the said uprights andAxtending trom points directly above the gate longitudinally of theroadway lo points at suitable distances at each side o1 the gate,clearly illustrated in Fig. l et the drawings. rifhe outer ends ol theoperating levers are provided with short depending chains 16 ofsulhcient length adapted to be reached trom the ground and also to begrasped by persons on horse bach or in vehicles.

lllhen a double gate is employed, horses and vehicles may approach thesame so that the gate will always open away from the operator.

rlhe upper end ot the vertical tube receives a vertical latch operatingrod 17, carrying a. horizontal pin 1S operating in vertical slots 19 onthe upper portion ot the vertical tube 2, which extends through a,metallic bearing *2O the center' of the supporting bar 13. The verticaltube slides and turns in the bea i-ig ot the supporting bar 13 andconstitutes a vertical pivot or pintle tor the gate. The slot. and pinconnection between the rod 17 and the upper portion ot' the verticaltube 2 permits a limited vertical inde-- pendent movement of the rod tooperate a latch 21. The latch 21, which is constructed oi suitablemetal, is pivoted at its lower portion by a pin or rive 'i to anupwardly projecting arm or portion of a substantially l shaped bracketrlhe bracket Q3 may be o1 any preferred construction, and the pivot 22is located above the lower edge of the the bottom with trout and rearprojecting portions and 25, arranged to the supporting member to limitthe pivotal movement of the latch to maintain the same in an uprightposition. rl`he center ot gravity et the latch is in advance ot thepivot so that the latch is maintained by gravity in the engagingposition illustrated in full lines in Figs. 1 and oit the drawings.

The upper end portion Q6 is hook-shaped to engage a horizontal lug 27 ofthe vertical tube 2, and it is beveled at the front edge to enable thelug 27 in its downward movement to engage the hook-shaped upper portionot the latch and swing the latter rearwardly, whereby the lug of thetube is adapted to pass beneath the engaging portion ot the latch. lThelatch is provided at the 'front with an intermediate projecting portion2S, presenting upper and lower in clined edges to the pin 1S, which hasone end extended to engage and trip the latch. vlrhen the gate is closedand the rod 17 iS at the limit of its downward movement, the extendedend oit' the horizontal pin 18 is arranged in the recess or spacebetween the intermediate projecting portion 28 and the lower frontprojection 24 ot the latch, and when the said rod 17 is lifted, itslirst movement, which is independent of the vertical tube 2, carries itspin 1S into engagement with the inclined edge of the intermediateprojection 28 and swings the latch rearwardly from the position shown infull lines in Fig. 5 ot the drawings to the dotted line ptsit-ion,thereby releasing the projecting lug 27 ot the tube and enabling thelatter and the gate to be lifted through a continued vertical movementotthe rod 17. The upper inclined edge of the intermediate projection 28enables the extended end of the pin to swing the latch rearwardly andpass beneath the said projection '28 in the closing movement ot thegate, and the said pin 1S is also adapted after swinging the latchrearwardly to engage the front bottom projection and positively swingthe latch into engagement with the projecting lug Q7 ot the verticaltube. Then the hook-shaped top portion of the latch is in engagementwith the lug 27, the gate is securely held a. 0'ainst the verticalmovement, which is neo essary to open it, and it will be impossible toopen the gate by upward pressure on the same, so that it cannot beoperated by stock. The lug 27 extends horizontally from the upper end ofthe vertical tube 2 at one side thereot, and the tube is provided at theopposite side with a lug or projection 29 to which is connected thelower end ot a coiled spring 30, secured at its upper end to ahorizontally projecting arm 31 ot the rod 17 and adapted to maintain therod 17 at the limit of its downward movement to insure i proper latchingot the gate and to prevent trie latch from being accidentally tripped.The latch is arranged above the gate out of the way and is preferablyhoused within a suitable casing 32, mounted upon the supporting bar 13and receiving the upper porion ot the tube 2 and the rod 17, and prolvided at the top with a central opening through which passes aconnecting screw 38. The connecting screw 33 is provided at its lowerend with a hook or eye 34, which engages a perforation in the upper endof the rod 17 and the upper portion oli the screw is threaded andextends through a connecting plate or piece 35, secured to the inner endof one ot the levers and term ing an extension of the same and passingthrough an eye 3G, which depends t'rom the adjacent operating lever. Theouter terminal portion 37 of the connecting plate or piece ishook-shaped to maintain itself in engagenient with the eye 250, and theterminal portion o't' the connecting plate or piece, and the eye 3Git'orm a loose hinge connection between the levers and permit thenecessary play ol the inner ends thereof in the oscillation oi the same.The upper end et' the screw receives a nut 3S by means of which theconnection between, the levers and the rod 17 is adjusted. When theouter arm or portion oi" either ol the operating levers is swungdownwardly, the latch is tripped and the gate is lilted and swung on itspivot, and the momentum oli' thc gate will carry the link beyond aAvertical position and cause the gate to automati ally complete itsswinging movement.

llfhat is claimed iszl. The combination o'f a gate, means it'or mountingthe same to permit the gate to have a limited vertical sliding movementand a horizontal pivotal or swinging movement, a latch located above thegate a nd ar-` ranged to loelt the gate in its closed position, andoperating mechanism connected with the gate and having ineans :t'ortripping the latch,

Q. lfhe combination oit a gate, means for mounting the same to permitthe gate to have a limited vertical sliding movement and a horizontalpivotal or swinging movement, means connected with the gate for causingthe same when liilited to swing horizontally, a latch located above thegate and arranged to lock the same against ifertical movement, andoperating mechanism connected with the gate and adapted to lift the sameand provided with means ttor tripping the latch,

3. The combination of a gate, means for mounting' the same to permit ahorizontal pivotal or swinging movement and a vertical slidingmoven'ient, a latch located above the gate and arranged to lock the sameagainst vertical movement, and operating niechanism including a memberconnected with the gate and having a limited movement imilependentlyoit' the same and provided with means for tripping the latch to releasethe gate,

el. The combination oi a gate, means for mounting the same to permit ahorizontal pivotal or swinging movement and a vertical sliding movement,a pivotally mounted latch located above the gateand arranged to lock thesame against vertical movement and having spaced portions, and operatingmechanism including a, member connected with the gate and having alimited movenient independently of the same and provided with meansarranged to operate between the spaced portions of the latch fortripping the latter and for positively moving the latch to its engagingposition.

5. rlhe combination o'l' a gate, means for mounting the same to permit ahorizontal pivotal or swinging movement and a vertical slidingmovement', a pivoted latch llaving a substantially hook-shaped engagingtop portion for holding the gate against; Avertical movement andprovided below the same with a projecting portion having upper and lowerinclined edges, and operating mechanism including a vertically movablemember connected with the gate and having a limited movementindependently thereof and provided with means arranged to engage withthe said inclined edges ol the latch and adapted to trip the said latch.

'lhe combination oil" a gate mounted :tor horizontal swinging movementand a limited vertical movement and provided with a projecting' lug, apivoted latch located above the gate and arranged to engage the saidlug. operating mechanism including a vertically movable member connectedwith the gate and having a limited movement independently thereof andprovided with means `for engaging and tripping the latch.

7. The combination of a gate, meansI for mounting the same to permit thegate to move vertically and swing horizontally, a relatively iixed lugcarried by the gate, a latch located above the gate and provided at thetop with means for engagingl the said lug, said latch being alsoprovided with spaced portions located below the engaging means, andoperating mechanism including a vertical rod connected with the gate andhaving a. limited independent movement and provided with means arrangedto engage with the said spaced portions to trlp the .latch and also torengage the same with the lug.

8. The combination of a gate, means for mounting the same to permit thegate to move vertically and swing horizontally, a pivotcd latch havingan engaging portion ior holding the gate against vertical movement andpivoted at its lower portion, said latch being provided at the bottomwith means ior limiting its pivotal movement to n'laini'ain it in anupright: position, and operating mechanism including a substantiallyvertical rod connected with the gate and having an independent upwardand downward mt'ivemcnt and provided with means for tripping the latch.

9. The combination of a gate having a vertical tube extending above thegate, means it'or moving the tube to permit the gate to move verticallyand swing horizontally, a latch arranged to engage the tube for lockingthe gate against vertical movement, and operating mechanism providedwith a rod extending into and connected with the tube and having alimited ind-ependent movement, said rod being provided with means fortripping the latch.

10. The combination of a gate provided with a vertical tube extendingabove the gate and having a slot, means for mounting the tube to permitthe gate to have a vertical sliding movement and a horizontal `pivotalmovement, a rod extending into the tube and provided with a pinoperating in the said slot and projecting beyond the tube, a latcharranged to engage the tube for holding the gate against verticalmovement, said latch being located in the path of the projecting pin andadapted to be tripped by the same, and means connected with the rod forlifting the gate.

ll. The combination of a gate, means for mounting the gate to permit thesame to swing horizontally and move vertically, a pivoted latch arrangedto lock the gate against vertical movement, operating mechanismincluding a member connected with the gate and having a limited movementindependently of the same and provided with means for tripping thelatch, and a coiled spring connected with the gate and with the saidmember for maintaining the same norially at the limit of its movement inone direction.

l2. The combination of a gate provided with a vertical tube, means formounting the tube to permit the gate to swing hori- Zontally and slidevertically, a latch arranged to engage the, tube for holding the gateagainst vertical movement, a rod connected with and slidable freely inthe tube Copies of this patent may be obtained for and having means fortripping the latch, operating levers extending to points above the tube,adjustable means for connecting the inner ends of the operating leverswith the said rod, and a coiled spring connecting the rod and the tubefor maintaining the rod at the limit of its downward movement.

13. The combination of a fixed vertical pivot, a gate provided with atube having its lower portion fitted over the said pivot, said gatebeing adapted to move vertically and swing horizontally, a latcharranged t-o engage the tube for holding the gate against verticalmovement, and operating means including a member slidable in the upperportion of the tube and having means Afor engaging and tripping thelatch.

lei- The combination of a fixed vertical pivot, a gate provided with avertical tube having its lower portion iitted over the said pivot andpermitting the gate to swing horiyzontally and move vertically, asupporting framework provided with `a bearing slidably receiving theupper portion of the tube, a latch mounted on the framework and arranged to engage the tube for locking the .gate in its closed position,and operating mechanism mounted on the said framework and including amember guided by the tube and having means for tripping the latch.

In testimony, that l claim the foregoing as my own, I have heretoaffixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

NOAH EARLY.

Vitnesses:

B. R. CoLLrNs, GRIN L. HAMILTON.

ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C.

